A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of reaquainting myself with a nice Italian restaurant located in north Tampa.
Here is the address
Gino's Restaurant and Bar
10006 N. Armenia Avenue
Tampa, FL 33612
(813) 933-1089
I came here one time about 10 years ago after one of the famous full-moon skates in Tampa with a bunch of friends of mine. And soon as I walked in I remembered that I had the Mussels Fra Diavolo as a late night appetizer. It's amazing what you can remember once you jog your memory a bit.
And I remembered it being good, so this time I tried the Seafood Fra Diavolo as a main course. It is mussels, shrimp and scallops served over linguine with a nice and spicy red sauce. And there is plenty of sauce that is left over that can be mopped up with the bread.
The entrees will come with some garlic bread that is warm and oozing with butter and garlic. They even brought out more once we devoured our original basket.
The salad comes with a nice homemade, vinigarette sauce that was a little on the sweet and tangy side, but good.
The red '"fra diavolo" sauce was perfectly spicy, not too overpowering, but it had a nice kick. Fra Diavolo means "By the Devil" in Italian to signify spicy dishes. It was exactly as I remembered it from about 10 years ago, which is amazing that it was so consistent. My only complaint is that the linguine should have been a little more "Al Dente" which is my personal preference (and how most Italians are taught to eat their pasta growing up), and the scallops could have been a little better quality, but other than that, it was great.
Picture of the Seafood Fra Diavolo - the restaurant review continues after the pic
Beer and Wine
They have a nice beer and wine selction, of course, I had a nice glass of Chianti with my meal which goes perfectly with the fra diavolo sauce, although it is not typically paired with any type of seafood.
Service at Gino's Restaurant
The service was very good, you can tell that they are well-trained and attentive. The front staff was even very accomodating as we had to change the number in our party at the last minute.
Prices
Here is what they have on the menu:
House specialties ($12 - $20 range)
They have meatloaf which I want to try next time, along with Eggplant Parmesan and Steak Marsala, etc.
Pastas ($10 - $16 range)
Baked Ziti, Ravioli, Gnocchi, etc.
Seafood ($16 - $22 range)
Seafood Pasta, Grouper Picata, Shrimp Scampi, etc.
Chicken / Veal ($16 - $18 range)
Picata, Marsala, Parmigiana, etc.
They also have Burgers, Sanwiches and Wraps.
It is a nice Italian restaurant / bar / good place for a date, or to go with a group of friends, or go after work. You can even sit at the bar. It has a nice bar-look to the place with wooden decor. They even had the Rays game on TV.
They are open for lunch and dinner.
Dessert - Cannoli!
For dessert, I had the cannoli, which was awesome, the mixture of ricotta and sugar was perfect, the cream was nice and airy and the shell was nice and crispy, and it was beautifully presented. This was on par with cannolis that I've had in New York and Italy.
I definitely have to come back to this place, and not have it be another 10 years.
[Picture of the Cannoli - as you can see it was delicious!]
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